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Auto-enrolment boosts pension savings

Published: December 15, 2016

Pension saving in the UK has increased significantly since the introduction of the auto-enrolment initiative.

Figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) show pension savings have risen by £2.5 billion a year, as well as boasting the number of workers enrolled in the schemes.

The IFS data showed there has been a 37 per cent increase in pension participation among eligible employees, with 88 per cent of private sector workers members of a workplace pension scheme.

Between 2012 and 2015, an extra 4.6 million private sector employees joined a workplace pension, with IFS estimating 4.4 million did so as a result of auto-enrolment.

Jonathan Cribb, senior research economist and report author at the IFS, said: “Automatic enrolment has been very successful in boosting membership of workplace pensions. This has been particularly true of younger employees aged 22 to 29 and relatively low earners on between £10,000 and £16,000 a year.

“Significant numbers of those not targeted by the policy have also been brought into workplace pensions, such as those earning less than £10,000. The story of automatic enrolment is certainly a case of so far so good. A key issue is whether those brought into workplace pensions at low contribution rates will remain in when minimum contribution rates start rising.”

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